Description (short summary):
The Europe 2020 strategy sets out a vision of a highly competitive European social market economy for the 21st century and emphasises that it is crucial to reap the full economic and social benefits of a digital society. To this end, electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) is part of the European Commission’s flagship initiative A Digital Agenda for Europe which gives prominence to achieving a single digital market and calls for removal of the regulatory and technical barriers that prevent mass adoption of e-invoicing.

To the detriment of consumers and enterprises alike, the existing rules that govern e-invoicing in Europe are still fragmented along national lines and most of the potential of e-invoicing is still untapped. What is more, exchanging e-invoices is still too complex and costly, in particular for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). While 42 % of large enterprises say they receive or send e-invoices, adoption rate among SMEs remain at a lower level (22 %). As a result the average market penetration of e-invoicing remains rather low in Europe and is currently estimated at around 5 % of all invoices annually exchanged for Business to Business relations.

This creates important opportunities for improvement. The mass adoption of e-invoicing within the EU would lead to significant economic benefits and it is estimated that moving from paper to e-invoices will generate savings of around €240 billion over a six-year period.

Furthermore, due to the close link between invoicing and payment processes, the creation of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) offers a launch pad for interoperable European e-invoicing schemes. The Commission wants to see e-invoicing become the predominant method of invoicing by 2020 in Europe. The Commission is committed to working in close cooperation with the Member States and all other stakeholders who will need to play their part to achieve this target and create the right environment for the widespread deployment of e-invoicing.

Accordingly, this Communication addresses the following priorities:

• to ensure legal certainty and a clear technical environment for e-invoices to facilitate mass adoption;
• to encourage and promote the development of open and interoperable e-invoicing solutions based on a common standard, paying particular attention to the needs of SMEs;
• to support the uptake of e-invoicing by setting up organisational structures, such as national e-Invoicing fora and a European Multi-Stakeholder Forum.

Number of pages: 13

Nature of documentation: Policy/Strategy papers